Tree for our backyard?

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amberdawn723

New Member
My husband and I bought our first home last year and we have no trees in the backyard and a fairly large older one in the front yard close to the street as well as a tree on both sides of the house in the neighboring yards that provide shade to the sides of the house.

We really would like to plant a tree for the backyard that will be medium to fast growing, get pretty wide (canopy type affect for shade) and be somewhat tall. I would love it to be a flowering tree or have an ornamental look to the leaves. I do not however want pecans or any nuts or fruit....Not sure if that is too vague or not....but any ideas what would be good for us? Also we're in zone 7a.
 
I would love to have a pecan tree in our yard, but they won't grow here. We do have a very old apple tree though and it is a perfect place to sit on a warm summer's day and watch and listen to the birds. It was warm enough yesterday afternoon to sit and we had some birds in the fir trees in front of the house that were singing their hearts out. I didn't see them, but I believe they were robins.
 
Thanks for the ideas!

Decided to try and ID the three trees that surround my house and have learned what they are. The tree to the west in the neighbors yard is a Texas Ash. Really quite nice looking but has been trimmed to prevent it from rubbing on both of our roofs. The tree to the east in our other neighbors yard and the tree in our front yard is some kind of Elm. I can't figure out which...but about a week ago I noticed that there were all kinds of little white seeds in my garden bed. Not too long afterwards I found that they were rooting into the ground! I weeded all of them of course. Turns out they are the samara of the Elm.

I've looked all over the web and still am not sure what tree we want for the backyard. The Live Oak looks really interesting but I'm not sure we have the room (in the long run anyways). The Ginkgo Tree is neat too but it is slow growing apparently. Will keep looking!
 
Considering a Muskogee Crape Myrtle. Anyone have experience with these. They grow all over the place here in Southern Oklahoma....but I don't see this particular color very often. Is a fast grower.....After doing more research I actually don't want a "somewhat tall" tree afterall. Apparently I want a small tree with a medium canopy. This one seems to fit the bill and is really pretty. Plus it's still small enough that I could actually get another tree as well!
 
My husband and I bought our first home last year and we have no trees in the backyard and a fairly large older one in the front yard close to the street as well as a tree on both sides of the house in the neighboring yards that provide shade to the sides of the house.

We really would like to plant a tree for the backyard that will be medium to fast growing, get pretty wide (canopy type affect for shade) and be somewhat tall. I would love it to be a flowering tree or have an ornamental look to the leaves. I do not however want pecans or any nuts or fruit....Not sure if that is too vague or not....but any ideas what would be good for us? Also we're in zone 7a.

Hi Amber,
My daughter just moved home from Lawton! Nice place. I did see Maples when I was there. They are semi fast growing and do offer great shade, and they also make great trees fro kids to climb;) But you mentioned flowering so maybe a Rain tree lots of color too
Let us know what you decide on.
 
I have a Muskogee that is about 8 years old. I haven't been all that happy with the shape as it has grown but don't know if that is just the way the tree grows or something I did or did not do, or if it will just eventually grow from being an ugly duckling into a swan. The blooms are pretty but not startling (rather pale lavender) Now, that being said, I have also have a white Natchez that I absolutely love! I believe it grows to about 20-25 (20' wide) and is probably about 12 feet now (same 8 year period). Beautiful, very graceful canopy shape, huge flower brackets and I especially love the cinnamon colored bark! It's just a very pretty combination! I bought these 2 crape myrtles at the same time. The Natchez is double the size of the Muskogee. Just my two cents worth.
 
Those Natchez Crape Myrtle is beautiful! Also considering some small maples but I'm not too sure any of the nurseries around here will have them. Do you think it is still early enough in the season to plant a tree or should we just wait til Autumn?
 
Im from southern Oklahoma too, but I don't remember living there. I was born in Thackerville over 70 years ago. That's south of Ardmore. I still have some family living in the area though. The last time I was there was in the 80's.
 
Wow! Small world. I love it here but I'm probably biased since I have lived here for the last 15 years. Also lived in Ardmore for abt 2 years when I was a toddler/preschool age.
 
I still have an aunt that lives in Ardmore and another in OK City. I haven't seen either of them for a few years now. I don't travel as well as I used to and they are even older than I am. I have some very fond memories of my visits to Love and Carter Counties though.
 
I am in love with this tree called the Weeping Cherry Tree. It Is beautiful and color and serves to purposes landscape as well as eating those good cherries. I get mine from the Online Nurseries they are very helpful. Check out the picture in the link and see if it might be what your looking for
Hope this helps

Manda
 
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